V/H/S is an American horror anthology franchise that includes nine found footage films, two spin-off films, and one short-form web miniseries. Based on an original concept by Brad Miska, the plot centers on a collection of increasingly disturbing recordings presented in various formats. Produced through collaborations between multiple filmmakers, the installments are largely standalone, though recurring elements suggest connections between some of the films.
The first spin-off film, Siren, serves as an expansion of one of the segments from the first film, and was met with a general positive critical reception. The Snapchat-released miniseries, titled V/H/S: Video Horror Shorts, received praise for its short-form format and expansion of the franchise to new media. The second spin-off film, Kids vs. Aliens, also served as an expansion of one of the segments from the second film, and was met with a mixed reception.
Origin
Created in a collaboration between Brad Miska and various filmmakers, the producer developed the concept for the overall premise of V/H/S with horror producer Roxanne Benjamin, who ran the "Bloody Disgusting Selects" film distribution label at the time. As the co-founder of a horror-themed website, Bloody Disgusting, he used his connections to directors and writers and to further realize his creation. Miska described the process as a "trust fall" exercise, with the creatives developing the initial premise, which he designates as a "wrap-around" of each film; followed by the additional segments that feature as the horrific videotapes that the characters in the recurring wrap-around sequences discover. Calling the franchise "a 'fill-in-the-hole' type project", Miska encouraged creativity from the respective filmmakers, with each segment being distinct in style and story.
Films Film U.S. release date Segment Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Story by Concept by Producer(s) Main series V/H/S Tape 56 Adam Wingard Simon Barrett Brad Miska Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin, Simon Barrett and Kim Sherman Amateur Night David Bruckner David Bruckner & Nicholas Tecosky Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin, Linda Burns and David Bruckner Second Honeymoon Ti West Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin, Peter Phok and Ti West Tuesday the 17th Glenn McQuaid Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin, Glenn McQuaid, Lee Nussbaum and Alex Kuciw The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger Joe Swanberg Simon Barrett Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin, Simon Barrett and Joe Swanberg 10/31/98 Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez & Chad Villella Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez and Chad Villella V/H/S/2 Tape 49 Simon Barrett Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin and Chris Harding Phase I Clinical Trials Adam Wingard Simon Barrett A Ride in the Park Edúardo Sanchez & Gregg Hale Jamie Nash Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin, Kyle D. Crosby and Jamie Nash Safe Haven Timo Tjahjanto & Gareth Evans Timo Tjahjanto Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin and Kimo Stamboel Slumber Party Alien Abduction Jason Eisener Jason Eisener & John Davies Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Roxanne Benjamin and Rob Cotterill V/H/S: Viral Vicious Circles Marcel Sarmiento T.J. Cimfel, David White & Marcel Sarmiento Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Adam Hendricks and John Lang Dante the Great Gregg Bishop Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Gregg Bishop, Dan Caudill, Stephen Caudill and Nils Onsager Parallel Monsters Nacho Vigalondo Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, Nahikari Ipiña Bonestorm Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead Justin Benson Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, David Lawson, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead and Theo Brooks Gorgeous Vortex* Todd Lincoln Brad Miska and Gary Binkow V/H/S/94 Holy Hell Jennifer Reeder Brad Miska & David Bruckner Brad Miska, Gary Binkow, David Bruckner, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Chad Villella, Josh Goldbloom and Parinda Patel Storm Drain Chloe Okuno The Veggie Masher† Steven Kostanski Chloe Okuno The Empty Wake Simon Barrett The Subject Timo Tjahjanto Terror Ryan Prows V/H/S/99 Shredding Maggie Levin Brad Miska, David Bruckner, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Chad Villella, Josh Goldbloom and James Harris Suicide Bid Johannes Roberts Ozzy's Dungeon Flying Lotus Zoe Cooper & Flying Lotus The Gawkers Tyler MacIntyre Brad Miska, David Bruckner, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Chad Villella, Josh Goldbloom, James Harris and John Negropontes To Hell and Back Vanessa Winter & Joseph Winter Brad Miska, David Bruckner, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Chad Villella, Josh Goldbloom, James Harris, Jared Cook, Joseph Winter and Vanessa Winter V/H/S/85 Total Copy David Bruckner Evan Dickson Brad Miska, Josh Goldbloom, David Bruckner, Chad Villella, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and James Harris No Wake Mike P. Nelson God of Death Gigi Saul Guerrero TKNOGD Natasha Kermani Zoe Cooper Ambrosia Mike P. Nelson Dreamkill Scott Derrickson Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill V/H/S/Beyond Abduction/Adduction Jay Cheel Brad Miska Brad Miska, Josh Goldbloom, James Harris, Michael Schreiber and Brian Robertson Stork Jordan Downey Jordan Downey & Kevin Stewart Oleg Vdovenko Brad Miska, Josh Goldbloom, James Harris and Michael Schreiber Dream Girl Virat Pal Virat Pal & Evan Dickson Brad Miska, Josh Goldbloom, James Harris, Michael Schreiber and Nehal Pal Live and Let Dive Justin Martinez Justin Martinez & Ben Turner Brad Miska, Josh Goldbloom, James Harris and Michael Schreiber Fur Babies Christian Long & Justin Long Stowaway Kate Siegel Mike Flanagan V/H/S/Halloween Diet Phantasma Bryan M. Ferguson Coochie Coochie Coo Anna Zlokovic Ut Supra Sic Infra Paco Plaza Paco Plaza & Alberto Marini Fun Size Casper KellyKidprint Alex Ross PerryHome Haunt Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. NormanV/H/S/Mixtape Gwar Is... Flying Lotus Brad Miska, Josh Goldbloom, Roy Lee, Steven Schneider and Michael SchreiberDance, Dance, Dance, DanceRenee Zhan Zoe CooperAnother Cabin** Flying Lotus Heartbeat David Moreau The Music of Mr. Sze Ernest DickersonPremature Burial** Tobias Forge Death ToneRZA RZA & Matt LandsmanV/H/S: SCP2027 TBATBATBATBAJosh Goldbloom, Roy Lee, Steven Schneider and Michael Schreiber Spin-off films Siren Gregg Bishop Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski Brad Miska, Gary Binkow and Jude S. Walko Kids vs. Aliens Jason Eisener John Davies & Jason Eisener Brad Miska, Rob Cotterill, Josh Goldbloom, Jason Levangie and Marc Tetreault *The "Gorgeous Vortex" segment was completed for the film, but was left out of the final cut.
†Faux-TV commercial embedded in the middle of the "Storm Drain" segment.
**Music video interludes part of the "Gwar Is..." segment.
Main series V/H/S (2012)
As a group of small time criminals record their crimes, they agree to a hire that asks them to break into a home to retrieve a specific VHS tape. As they commence their search they discover the home owner, an elderly man, has died while watching a series of tapes on his assortment of stacked televisions. As they continue to look for the requested video, each tape contains a sequence of terror recorded by home video camera. These recordings include: a group of boorish friends who plan to meet some women at a nightclub, only to be brutally attacked by a deadly siren; a young couple vacationing in the American southwest and the lethal burglary of their hotel room by a stalker; a group of friends who take a road trip to visit a secluded area in the woods and are faced with an unidentifiable murderous entity that appears as tracking errors on their camera; a video chat where a young woman contacts her med student boyfriend regarding an agitated bump on her arm, which is revealed to be the result of a tracking device placed within her by extraterrestrials who are conducting experiments on unknowing individuals; and a group of young men who attend a party on Halloween night only to arrive at the wrong house, and must face paranormal phenomena with poltergeists, and an exorcism conducted on a woman by a cult.
All the while unbeknownst to the thieves, one by one they begin to inexplicably disappear after each tape is viewed. Meanwhile, the deceased homeowner begins to reanimate and begins an attack on the remaining survivors.
V/H/S/2 (2013)
A mother hires a private investigator named Larry and his girlfriend Ayesha, to look for her college-age son named Kyle, who has inexplicably gone missing. As the pair break into his dorm, they discover a stack of VHS tapes in his room, alongside a laptop computer that is in the middle of recording footage. After watching a clip of Kyle's recording on his computer, where he discusses the strange nature of these tapes and their influence on their viewer, Ayesha is tasked with watching the recorded videos while Larry continues to search the home for more evidence. Each tape includes a sequence of horror including: a man who attains a prototype ocular implant from his ophthalmologist, and is told that he may experience some glitches, only to experience various encounters with ghosts; a cyclist's ride through a forested state park, who comes across a bloodied and ailing couple that reanimate after dying only to attack everyone around them, turning them into zombies; a documentary crew that visits an Indonesian cult to record their mysterious rituals, and finds themselves in the middle of a mass suicide all while a demon arrives to rule over its worshippers; and a group of friends who record their slumber party, only to be attacked by a number of aliens who seek to abduct the young boys.
As Ayesha watches the videos, an assortment of tapes that were first discovered by some thieves in an abandoned home, she becomes hypnotized before getting sick with a migraine headache. When her nose begins to bleed, Larry frantically looks for medication in the house. When he returns to help her, she has died. Another tape is left with an instructional message of "watch" written on it. As Larry presses play on the tape, a home video of Kyle and his mother relay that they want to make their own contribution to the series of videos. A figure from the shadows emerges revealing there is more to Kyle's disappearance than initially believed.
V/H/S: Viral (2014)